The Ultimate Guide to Running a Successful Reading Program in an International School
Why a Reading Program Matters in International Schools
Reading programs aren’t just about hitting book quotas – they’re about fostering a culture of curiosity, connection, and confidence. In international schools, where student populations represent a broad mix of languages, backgrounds, and learning styles, a well-designed reading program is essential.
A successful reading program can help you:
- Strengthen language acquisition for multilingual learners
- Encourage independent learning
- Support cross-curricular literacy
- Celebrate diverse voices and global perspectives
- Build a strong sense of community through shared stories
And with the right library management system – like Accessit Library by Follett Software – running a reading program doesn’t have to be complicated.
Step 1: Define the purpose of your reading program.
Every school has different goals. Your first step is to get crystal clear on what you’re trying to achieve.
Is your program about:
- Boosting overall reading engagement?
- Improving specific literacy benchmarks?
- Encouraging multilingual reading?
- Building connections across your international school community?
Tip: Start with your curriculum goals and consider how reading can support them. Tie reading lists into current units of inquiry, IB themes, or language development milestones.
Step 2: Make it inclusive and culturally responsive.
In international settings, no two students have the same reading journey, and your program should reflect that.
Ideas to Increase Inclusion:
- Create genre and interest-based reading lists instead of age-based ones.
- Offer materials in multiple languages (print and digital).
- Highlight authors from a variety of backgrounds.
- Rotate reading themes to spotlight different cultures and global events.
With Accessit, you can easily build and share custom dashboards for each list – from “Books in Translation” to “Women in STEM” to “Year 7 Reads for Reluctant Readers”.
Resources such as videos, podcasts, and mini articles are also available to capture their attention and excite them to read further – this is especially useful for reluctant readers who may need some extra encouragement.
Step 3: Use technology to track and encourage participation.
Gone are the days of paper reading logs and sticker charts.
With Accessit Library, you can:
- Allow students to log their reading digitally
- Set up student profiles to track borrowing patterns and interests, and set up alerts for new books they might like
- Enable self-checkout and renewals through the online portal
- Let students write reviews and recommend books to peers
- Push automated reading reminders and program updates
This kind of digital engagement meets students where they already are – and gives them ownership of their reading progress. When students realise the freedom that comes with Accessit Library, they will be more excited than ever to engage with their library.
“Students love seeing their own dashboards. It makes them feel like their reading habits matter – because they do.” – Accessit Librarian, Australia
Step 4: Empower teachers to champion the program.
Your reading program will only scale if it’s embraced beyond the library. Get teachers on board by making it easy for them to participate.
Support teachers by:
- Curating ready-to-go reading lists tied to subjects
- Offering PD on integrating reading into nonlanguage classes
- Highlighting how reading supports IB skills like research, reflection, and communication
- Encouraging teacher book clubs or class-wide reads
Teachers using Accessit can access curated collections and easily embed links into lesson plans or class portals. They don’t need to be library experts – just engaged facilitators.
Step 5: Celebrate progress (not just completion).
Traditional reading programs reward finishing books. But in international schools, where reading levels vary widely, success looks different for every student.
Celebrate:
- Number of pages or amount of time read
- Reading in a new language
- Trying a new genre
- Reading aloud to a sibling or parent
- Writing a review or creating a book trailer
Use Accessit to track these milestones and spotlight them on a shared school dashboard, in assemblies, or through school-wide newsletters. Make each student feel important as you celebrate each milestone with them!
Step 6: Use data to refine and advocate.
The most effective reading programs are living programs – they grow, shift, and respond to your community’s needs.
Data You Can Track with Accessit:
- Which books are most (or least) borrowed
- Which genres are trending
- Which students are engaged – and which need more support
- Reading activity by age, class, or language group
This insight doesn’t just help you refine your program. It gives you hard numbers to bring to leadership when requesting budget for new materials, resources, or events. It’s always important to know which of your students may need a little extra support.
“With Accessit, I can show our administrators exactly what’s working – and what we need to better support students.” – Secondary Librarian, Hong Kong
Bring your reading program to life.
Need inspiration? Here are tried-and-true ideas from international librarians around the world:
- Reading Around the World: Passport-style challenge where students earn stamps for books from different countries
- Book Talks via Video: Students record short reviews and post to a school-wide reading board.
- Teacher Takeover: Each month, a teacher curates a display of their favorite books.
- Read-Aloud Relay: Different classes each read a chapter of the same book, then pass it on.
- Virtual Author Visits: Use your reading program as a platform to invite international voices.
The Secret to a Great Reading Program?
Consistency. Visibility. Flexibility.
Accessit Library was designed to help schools build meaningful reading programs without increasing staff workload. With automation, data insights, and an intuitive dashboard experience for both students and staff, it becomes the backbone of your library-led reading initiative.
Learn more about Accessit Library
Whether you’re starting a reading program from scratch or scaling an existing one across your school, Accessit Library is your trusted partner in bringing the power of reading to every student.
